Bid Me Now Read Free Page B

weeks. But a week or so in Charmford wouldn’t make a lot of difference. His London team had things under control.
    Fitz grinned. “Sounds good. When are ya gonna buy one of those super yachts?”
    “Don’t you start. Cate keeps pestering me, but only so she can use it to entertain her socialite friends.”  
    No damned way was he ever going to buy a super-yacht. They weren’t for sailing. Besides, as he’d reminded his sister many times, a big boat wouldn’t prevent her seasickness. He’d only taken Cate and her husband Charles on his ketch once. Despite the sea being as flat as a millpond, Cate had spent the entire time lying on one of the bunks, groaning. No, he’d stick to his basic forty-footer, and Cate would just have stick to socializing on dry land.
    Fitz grunted in amusement. “By the way, who was it that arrived late yesterday?”
    Nick raised his brow. “You saw her?”
    “Saw you talking to her in the parking lot just as I was packing up. Hard to miss.”
    Hard to miss, all right. A fresh image of Miri pressed into his mind. Damn, it was strange that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or visualizing her. Talk about a sight for sore eyes, decked out in that dress-to-impress business getup. Well, he’d been impressed all right, but not by Ms. Business Attire’s outfit or even her luscious body. It had been the pale delicate features, waist-length tumble of dark chocolate curls, and incredible green eyes that had spiked his interest. A genuinely beautiful woman with a soft innocence behind all that temper that straight out intrigued him. She’d been so far out of her comfort zone, he’d half expected her to bolt right there in front of him. Except in those heels and on that broken-down asphalt, she wouldn’t have made it very far. As much as he loved heels, he’d seriously worried about the safety of those killer legs.  
    “What did she have to say?”
    Say? Then there was her mouth. All plump and rosy-soft, with smiles and pouts. The kind of mouth that was grabbing his interest all over again.
    Beautiful.
    “So what did she want , Nick?” pressed Fitz with a chuckle.
    Dammit, what did she want? Oh, yeah. “She’s an artist. Made an offer on the mill. Wants to open a gallery or something.”  
    He fell back to his thoughts. No way would he have picked her for an artist in that outfit. But what the hell did he know about artists? Zilch. If teasing her had gone down badly, catching her when she fell had sealed it. He’d been mean, he knew that. Toyed with her. But she’d riled him, and besides, she’d more than held her own without too much trouble. Jesus, she’d been mad. He’d half expected her to pick up that broken stiletto and stab him. But her temper aside, he’d enjoyed going a couple of rounds with Miri Jamieson. And she’d felt as good as she looked. Small and slender, with just the right amount of tantalizing curves to fill that outfit to perfection. A pity she’d fled like some skittish Cinderella. He glanced over at the shoes in the corner, picturing them on the end of her slim legs. Yeah, a real pity.  
    “So what did you tell her?”
    Nick wrenched his thoughts back to Fitz’s question, suddenly conscious of the increased blood flow to his groin. It might have been a few weeks, but even so. “I told her no. It didn’t go down well. Anyway, what about the equipment?”
    “As I said, we’ll bring up our own. You’re not listening. Something on your mind?” Fitz grinned knowingly.  
    Nick leaned forward and tried to ignore the equipment in his pants. “Sorry. Just thinking about sailing.”  
      Fitz gave him a “whatever” look. “Okey, dokey. Oh, by the way, I’ve found an Irish pub in town. You interested in going tonight? The lads are keen.”  
    “Not tonight, thanks. I’ll be at Charmford’s only boxing gym, then back to the hotel.” Besides, he needed to work off some pressure.  
    Maybe he’d call her. Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d go